Most Americans with a chronic illness say they would join a clinical trial if given the chance. Few are ever asked. In national polling of more than 2,000 adults conducted this year, 71 percent of patients with chronic conditions said they would be likely to participate in a trial if offered the opportunity, while two-thirds said their health care provider had never discussed clinical trials with them at all. The figures appear in national polling of patients with chronic conditions and were highlighted in reporting from KFF Health News examining why the gap persists.
The most widely cited measure of how rarely patients are invited is older. A federal survey brief using data collected in 2020 found that just 9 percent of adults reported ever being invited to participate in a clinical trial. That collection date should not be glossed over. It is a dated estimate rather than a current census, and no equivalent national measurement has replaced it.
